E 

n. 




\fs,iQ, s^^m 




J3l * Ixeaf 



from tl^e 



Historg„2!ihe 



%%%% 



W. S. WiLi>ON- 
1888. 



ml oiiK I 



iailMiUMMIi*WWMkkUUHaiMUlMilMaillllMM<iki>>MMMMilUMiaMMMM 



*<Mi««<—«<«>»»«T*M I ll>[ll II 




Book '*>' 



A LEAF FROM 



History of the Rebellion. 



SKETCHES OF EVENTS AND PERSONS. 



BY 

WILLIAM b: \yiLSON, 

A MILITARY TELEGRAPHER OF THE TIME. 



HOLMESBURO, PHILADELPHIA, 

June 26, 1S88. 



^ 






MEYERS PRINTING AND PUBLISHING HOUSE, HARRISBUHQ. 



^ 



UedicatBd ta the memary of Thouian E. Scott, who, in 
life, whEther in times of War or in times of Peace, was 
a foremost citizen in defending his country's rights and 
advancing its prosperity, 



A LEAF FROM 



History of the Rebellion. 



The battle of Bull Run and its attending disasters 
threw tlie country into a great turmoil of excitement. The 
loyal people were appalled when the startling fact broke 
upon them that they had vastly underrated the strength, 
power and resources of the enemy. They saw that they 
were sadly disappointed in their supposition that the army 
of raw levies from the workshops, fields, counters and 
offices of the North, accustomed only to the avocations 
of peace, would, in three short months, whip a military 
people, fighting under the stimulus of desperation. 

" Bull Run " was an error which a round of circum- 
stances made the government commit. The three months' 
enlistments were drawing to the end of the term, the 
troops, not satisfied with the great works they had per- 
formed of saving the Capital, desired a taste of war's bitter 
fruits in the frenzied fray ; influences from civil life clam- 
ored for a battle, and everywhere throughout the land the 
cry of "On to Richmond " could be heard ; capitalists who 



6 A Leaf from the History of the Rehellion. 

had loaned the government their wealth, Senators and Rep- 
resentatives in Congress who had the voting of supplies 
and the radical abolitionists with an impetuousness inborn 
of their detestation of slavery, demanded a demonstration 
against the enem}^ The President at last gave way under 
the pressure thus brought to bear upon him and added his 
voice to the throng in urging an onward movement. Long 
and fervent were the remonstrances of the veteran General 
Scott and the young and intrepid McDowell, but they too 
had to give way to the noisy clamors, and the consequence 
was an order for McDowell to advance his army on Man- 
assas the stronghold of the enemy. The result, that tough ly- 
contested battle, fought on a hot Sunday, which brought 
so much distress, dismay and disgrace to the arms of the 
Union. 

Whilst the action was progressing I was on duty in the 
War Department at Washington as military telegraph 
operator and around me was gathered one of the most 
illustrious groups brought together during the war with 
the Confederate States, to witness on that beautiful Sun- 
day the tragedj^ being enacted on the banks of Bull Run. 

Military science, surrendered to the passions of the 
people, had passed under newspaper and partisan political 
control, and the group had gathered to watch the practical 
effects of that surrender, little dreaming what the declin- 
ing of that day's sun would disclose. 

The group was composed of President Lincoln, William 
H. Seward, Simon Cameron, Salmon P. Chase, Gideon 



A Leaf from the History of the Rebellion. 7 

Welles and Edward Bates, of the Cabinet ; Colonels Town- 
send, Van Eensalear, Hamilton and Wright, of General 
Scott's staff ; General Mansfield, coramanding the defences 
of Washington, and Colonel Thomas A. Scott of Pennsyl- 
vania. AVith maps of the field before them they watched, 
as it were, the conflict of arms as it progressed, at the 
same time keeping up a rumiing desultory conversation. 

The military telegraph which had not yet reached the 
efficiency which afterwards characterised it, extended only 
to Fairfax Court House from which point General McDowell 
kept the authorities advised of his movements. Hour 
after hour the couriers reported unbrokenly that our troops 
were steadilv forcing the enemy back, but as that was ex- 
pected the reports only tended to increase the complacent 
satisfaction with which all of the party seemed to be pos- 
sessed. 

A despatch liad been received from General Robert 
Patterson the evening before announcing that Johnston 
had eluded him, but the sanguine feeling which animated 
the group was in no wise abated by that knowledge or by 
the probability of Johnston forming a junction with 
Beauregard that day. 

The day passed quietly in the Department, all present 
looking forward with an abiding confidence for McDowell's 
success. 

Mr. Lincoln, deeply impressed with the responsibilities 
of the occasion, wore a quiet digniity and his observations 



8 A Leaf from the History of the Rehellion. 

on the pending conflict were free from humor and were 
few and measured. 

Mr. Seward, complacently smoking a cigar, displayed a 
consciousness that his prophecy of a thirty days' war was 
about being verified. 

Mr. Cameron, not doubting the result of the day's work^ 
yet not sharing in Mr. Seward's views as to the duration of 
the war with the forces then in hand, gave expression to 
his opinions in the forcible, practical manner for which he 
was distinguished. 

The military gentlemen explained movements besides 
occasionally withdrawing themselves for the purpose of 
advising General Scott of the battle's progress, he being too 
much enfeebled by the infirmities of age to leave his 
quarters. 

The other gentlemen of the group were deeply interest- 
ed observers. 

Up to half past three o'clock in the afternoon advices 
from McDowell were frequent, the despatches at that 
hour indicating that he was pressing Beauregard back to 
Manasses Junction. From then on until the shades of 
evening were drawing on apace an ominous silence settled 
upon the telegraph. The conversation of the gentlemen 
took a speculative turn on the causes of the sudden ces- 
sation of information from the field, the generally express- 
ed opinion being that McDowell, flushed with victory, was 
too busily engaged in securing its fruits to write despatches. 



A Leaf from the History of the Rehellmi. 9 

Bat as time wore on, and speculation had almost given way 
to impatience, the throbbing instrument broke its long silence 
and told that "Our army is retreating." Such informa- 
tion being entirely unexpected, was received at first with 
incredulity but as corroboration soon followed, and the 
fact became apparent tliat the army was not only retreat- 
ing but was flying in a panic, it was received and accepted 
with outward composure. There was no consternation 
and but a feeble ripple of excitement of momentary dura- 
tion and scarcely discernable. As the result was the op- 
posite of the anticipations, it would be expected that^the 
sudden revulsion would have at least produced great ex- 
citement, but whatever may have been the thoughts and 
feelings of these gentlemen they kept them closely veiled 
as the truth was being revealed. Mr. Seward smoked on 
without the slightest perturbation being shown upon his 
countenance in his manner or speech. The days of his 
prophecy were ended and he extricated himself from the 
consequences of their not bringing fulfilment by extend- 
ing them to a later period. Colonel Thomas A. Scott, 
turning to General Mansfield, said, quietly, "General, it 
would be well to man your fortifications and stay this re- 
treat," and then left the Department with Mr. Cameron 
for the purpose of holding a consultation with General 
Scott. As the telegrapli reported the terrible scenes and 
heartrending stories of sufferings during the progress of 
that never-to-be-forgotten flight, Mr. Lincoln felt that the 
hour of the nation's greatest peril was opening and while 



XO A Leaf from the History of the Rebellion. 

making preparations to meet it, tlie saddened lines of his 
countenance deepened and his whole soul seemed to go out 
in sympathy to the dymg, the sick and wounded, the foot- 
sore and the weary. 

Grenera] Scott could not understand that a "hero of one 
hundred battles '' could be beaten, and he only believed 
when the advancing hurricane of the flying panic-stricken 
army sounded its approach to the Capital. When the 
veteran at last believed he gave me an autograph order to 
suppress all news of the disaster which might be offered 
for telegraphing to the country. Armed with this docu- 
ment I drove down Pennsylvania avenue to the American 
Telegraph Office and notified its manager of the commands 
of the General-in-Chief. Piled upon the telegraph tables 
were " specials " from the field describing,' iif thrilling lan- 
guage — as only the "War Corrfespondent" could describe — 
the scenes and events of the day. All intimations of 
disaster were ruthlessly cut from the specials and only the 
rose coloring permitted to be telegraphed. Thus it was 
that whilst the gloom of the darkest hour in the Republic's 
history hung like a pall over Washington City, through- 
out the North bells were ringing out rejoicings over the 
glad tidings of .victory. 

Telegrams were sent to General McClellan, at Beverly, 
in Western Virginia, informing him of a "repulse," to 
McDowell, and to Generals Banks and Dix — both of whom 
were in Baltimore — instructing them to keep their men 
under arras. No official telegrams for aid were sent at 



A Leaf from the History of the Rehellion. 11 

this time, but Colonel Thomas A. Scott, with a keen per- 
ception of the situation and foreseeing the necessities of 
the morrow, sent a telegram to Governor Curtin, at Harris- 
burg, which, in conception and composition, was so char- 
acteristic of the man who no sooner saw a want than he 
comprehended its supply, that I give its entire text here : 

" Washington, July 21, 1861. 
"Hon. A. G. Curtin, Harrishurg, Pa. : 

"Get your regiments at Harrisburg, Easton and other 
points ready for immediate shipment ; lose no time in 
preparing ; make things move to the utmost. 

(Signed) " Thomas A. Scott." 

This dispatch anticipated, by many hours, any official 
action looking towards a call for "more troops." The 
reply to it was found in the hastening of the famous Penn 
sylvania Reserves to the relief of the threatened Capital. 
Mr. Lincoln lingered around tlie War Department until 
after two o'clock in the morning when he retired to tlie 
White House leaving Mr. Scott on guard, an active, 
watchful sentinel of the movements of the night. Had 
the country been consulted, there could not have been se- 
lected from among its patriotic sons, an abler, truer, wiser, 
brav^er guardian, than the noble Pennsylvanian whom Mr. 
Lincoln left on guard to care for its interests in the crisis 
which had come upon it. 

At the close of the battle of Bull Run, Washington City 
was crowded with a disorganized, demoralized mob, 



12 A Leaf from the History of the Rebellion. 

scarce!}' controllable, which had taken the shortest routes 
from the battle-field to the Capital. The most of the per- 
sons composing it were eagerly demanding their discharges, 
as the term of their enlistments had either expired or were 
expiring. T'was indeed a dark day that had fallen upon 
the country. A strong and victorious enemy, jubilant over 
its success, was threatening the very gates of the Capital, 
whilst their defenders, scattered and unmanageable, were 
parading the streets and avenues in grotesque parties spin- 
ning yarns of individual valor. 

General Simon Cameron held the portfolio of the De- 
partment of War. He was assisted by Colonel Thomas 
A. Scott, one of the best-equipped and practical minds of 
the day, a man whose energy and applicability enabled 
him to surmount any difficulty that might be thrown in 
his way. 

At a consultation held immediately after the battle, it 
was determined upon bringing the 3^oung military chieftain. 
General McClellan, from the scene of his successes in 
Western Virginia to reorganize the army for the defence 
of the Union. With his prestige, ability and ardor he soon 
brought order out of chaos, and had a large army in train- 
ing on the banks of the Potomac. A perfect net woi'k of 
fortifications sprung up around Washington at tlie hands 
of accomplished and experienced engineers. Daily troops 
were worked up into beautiful human machines whose 
every movement betokened harmony of action. Colonel 
Lorenzo Thomas was made, by brevet, a Brigadier General 



A Leaf from the History of the Rebellion. 13 

and occupied the post of Adjutant General ; Captain 
Meigs, an eminent engineer, whose work upon the Wash' 
ington aqueduct and the dome of the Capitol had given 
him a world-wide reputation, was appointed Quarter- 
Master General, with the rank of brevet Brigadier General ; 
Colonel J. W. Ripley, advanced to similar rank, was pro- 
moted to Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance, and Colonel 
Joseph Taylor, brother of old " Rough and Ready," acted 
as Commissary General of Subsistence. 

The army, under the auspices of these learned military 
men, became, as it were, an army of veterans, ever ready 
for the fray in which they might retrieve the Nation's 
honor and punish treason. The summer wore away in 
bringing the army into condition and insuring the invul- 
nerability of the political metropolis of the country, and 
just as the frosts of autumn had rendered an advance upon 
the enemy practicable, rains set in, causing Virginia's 
proverbially bad roads to become perfectly impassable. 
Rains continued throughout the fall and winter. Roads 
had no bottoms and the ground became so thoroughly sat- 
urated that at the close of 1861 and the commencement of 
1862, regimental and even company drill had to be 
abandoned. The pickets in camp and on the outposts, 
stationed in the most advantageous positions, unable to 
ivalk their posts, plodded them, and that often through 
nuid to their ankles. The only consolation our troops 
gave themselves in their mud-bound condition was that of 
believing the enemy were in no better condition. The 



1-i A Leaf from the History of the Rehellion. 



only difference which did exist, was, that whilst our army, 
ever prepared for an advance, waited for propituous weather 
in tents, the enemy had* gone into comparatively comfort- 
able winter quarters. 

During the time the grand Army of the Potomac lay 
thus inactive, independent movements were made and 
large drafts for the men to carry them into effect were 
made upon it. These movements and depletions of his 
ranks were strenuously opposed by General McClellan, 
on the ground of bad policy. He contended that whilst 
it weakened his army the advantages arising from striking 
at and occupying isolated points in the South could in no 
way be equal to those that would arise from his bearing 
down with a large and overwhelming force upon the posi- 
tions where the strength of the enemy was centered. 
Further, that concentration, not the isolation, of divisions 
was the true principle upon which the war should be con- 
ducted, to bring the rebellion to a speedy conclusion. 
This sage and deep reasoning was overthrown and he was 
compelled to see some of his choicest troops taken away 
from him, but to his honor and patriotism be it said, that 
the moment the policy of independent movements were 
resolved upon, he gave all his talents and energy to ensure 
their success. 

The retiracy of General Winfield Scott, in the fall of 
1861, caused the appointment of McClellan as General 
Commanding the United States Army. Multiplied as 
his duties became, by reason of his advancement, he did 



A Leaf from the History of the Rebellion. 15 

not shrink an instant from the responsibilities of his posi- 
tion, but went to work with an energy which soon infused 
new life into the whole army. He planned his campaign, 
then set to work in bringing his combinations to perfection. 
Day and night have I seen him busily engaged moving 
the vast machinery of the whole army and personally at- 
tending to the details of the management of his immediate 
■command — the great Army of the Potomac. Not a mo- 
ment of time did he devote to himself excepting such 
hours as nature demanded for repose, and those he cur- 
tailed to the utmost limit. His meals were oftenest eaten 
whilst he labored. A little wicker basket, containing a few 
sandwiches, some bread and cheese, and now and then a 
tart — was the storehouse from which for days he drew his 
only provisions. The results of his excessive labors and 
close confinement to duty were shown, in colors of bril- 
liancy, by the gallant achievements in the west, the res- 
toration of Kentucky and Tennessee to the Union, the 
evacuation of Manasses and Corinth, the re-opening of the 
Mississippi and the occupation of New Orleans. 

These glorious results were clearly attributable to the 
genius of McClellan, and would have been the forerunner 
of greater achievements, bringing the war to a close, with 
a restored Union, within eighteen months from the time 
Sumter was fired upon, had he been allowed to pursue his 
plans to their final consummation. But it was not to be 
so. Simon Cameron resigned as Secretary of War and 
Edwin M. Stanton appointed his successor. From this 



16 A Leaf from the History of the Rebellion. 

moment the policy of the Department of War changed. 
Mr. Stanton had a national reputation of being an eminent 
legal scholar but withal he was ambitious to unheal thiness, 
egotistic, bombastic, arrogant and untruthful. He was 
called upon to act in a department, the highly patriotic 
duties of which he was entirely unfitted for. It was pe 
culiarly unfortunate that Mr. Lincoln's foresightedness 
should have failed him when he consented to the appoint- 
ment of Stanton. We can only lament it that it did. The 
fulsome laudations of the press of the country, soon raised 
Stanton to a standard far beyond his caliber and the people, 
so prone to allow their enthusiasm to carry their judgment 
beyond the line of prudence, carried the standard to a more 
giddy height so that Stanton, looking in any direction, saw 
nothing but himself. His egoism and vanity were catered to, 
causing him to assume the position he did which proved so 
disastrous to the country. His incapacity to wield the 
scepter placed in his hands soon showed itself. 

Simon Cameron and Thomas A. Scott, unaided, had per- 
formed all the necessary administrative work of the De- 
partment in raising, equipping, organizing and placing in 
the field an army of six hundred thousand men besides 
receiving and hearing the large crowds of people who, in 
rapid streams, flowed into Washington from all quarters of 
the country. Day and night they were accessible to any 
person that might call upon them. Mark the effect of the 
change. Secretary Cameron's resignation took place when 
the army was ready to move and the business of the 



A Leaf from (he History of the Rebellion. 17 



Department had dwindled down to mere routine, but, 
notwithstanding this, Mr. Stanton must have tliree Assis- 
tant Secretaries of War and a large addition to his corps 
of clerks, and after he received them he must denj audi- 
ences four days in the week to all callers, the President 
and members of the Cabinet alone excepted. On tiie 
remaining two days he graciously permitted access to his 
presence, designating five hours of one day as the time for 
Senators and members of Congress and five hours of the 
other day as the time for the general public and officers of 
the army to call. 

The atmosphere of the Department soon thickened with 
the atoms of autocracy and snobbery, erstwhile found fly- 
ing around the heads of royalty, but which now had effected 
a lodgement on and around Mr. Stanton's desk. 

The reason announced for the enlargement of the force 
and curtailment of the freedom of access was that such 
action was necessary for the expedition of business. If 
such necessity existed, it was a thousand times more urgent 
under Cameron than under Stanton, but the fact is that it 
did not exist at all, and the only reasonable explanation 
of Stanton's action was to be found in an overwhelmino' 
desire on his part to surround himself with a seeming in- 
approachableness so as to enable him "to undo all that had 
been done by his predecessor. That he succeeded in ob- 
taining his desire is fully attested by subsequent events. 
Enlistments were stopped, and the ranks of the army, 
instead of being kept up to a standard of six hundred 



18 A Leaf from the. History of the Rebellion. 

thousand fighting men, were being reduced daily by sick- 
ness and the casualities of war, and no one to fill up the 
vacant files. 

McClellan forced the enemy to abandon his extremely 
strong position at Manassas, and then sought a new base 
of operations in the Peninsula. Evacuation by the enemy 
of Yorktown and the lines of the James, Chicahominy and 
York rivers to a new position within a few miles of Eich- 
mond was an early result. McClellan was thus in a posi- 
tion to realize his fond anticipations of bringing the war 
to a speedy conclusion, but the policy of the War Depart- 
ment was against him and it was impossible for him to suc- 
cessfully contend with that enemy in the rear, and the armed 
foe in the front. The failure of McDowell to form a junc- 
tion with him, and the non-arrival of needed reinforce- 
ments caused the necessity for the change of base to the 
James River accompanied by the '' Seven days' fight " with 
all its attendant casualities. The President on appeal said 
every man was sent McClellan that could be sent him ; that 
they had no more to send. That was unquestionably true. 
But why ? Enlistments had stopped when they should 
have gone on, at least until such time as would be required 
to have a sufficient force in reserve for just such emer- 
gencies as arose. Cameron's policy would have insured 
a patriotic army of a million of men, and operations would 
not have had to be suspended a moment for new levies to 
be made. Reserves under that policy could have been 
sent forward to close decimated ranks, enabling a steady 



A Leaf from the History of the Rehdlion. 19 

advance of the Union columns upon all those spots where 
the Confederacy had its armed forces. " No men to send " 
caused Banks to retreat to the Potomac, and laid open to 
the enem)' the beautiful Valley of the Shenandoah. Yet 
Banks' retreat was not a warning. To be sure it fired the 
patriotic heart of the country, and caused large numbers 
of able-bodied men to rush forward and tender their ser- 
vices to the Government, but the Government, under the 
baneful iuHuence of Stanton and liis policy, cooled the 
ardor of the people by refusing to accept the noble offers, 
on the pretext that there were sufficient men in the field. 
Had those sons of constitutional liberty been accepted, 
McClellan could have had an overwhelming force at his 
command with which to destroy the Southern Army, 
capture Richmond and close the war. 

Whilst McClellan was at Harrison's Landing putting the 
Army of the Potomac into condition for a movement upon 
Richmond, and calling for reinforcements that never came, 
the War Department authorities at Washington were again 
tampering with the organization of the Army. The corps 
of McDowell, Banks and Fremont, and the garrison of 
Washington, which had been detached from McClellan's 
command, were organized into the "Army of Virginia'; 
and placed under the command of Major General John 
Pope, who signalized his incapacity for such duty by boast- 
fully proclaiming in general orders, that the securing of 
"bases of operations" arid "lines of retreat" should be 
left to the enemy. The enemy promptly secured Pope's. 



.20 A Leaf from the History of the Rebellion. 

To cap the climax of blundering, if not absolutely criminal 
stupidity, Major General Henry W. Halleck, who had 
never marshalled even a squad in the field, was called to 
Washington, as Greneral in Chief of the Armies of the 
United States. Stanton thus became strongly reinforced 
in the carrying out of his system of undoing, and heartily 
did Halleck and Pope respond to all calls he made upon 
them to aid him in that direction. All military maxims 
were disregarded, and the Army of the Potomac was 
recalled from tlie line of the James. 

This frightful blunder was immediately taken advantage 
of by General Lee, who made a bold move to reach Washing- 
ton, by turning its right flank. On the 2d of August, 
1862, General Halleck issued orders for the recall of the 
Army of the Potomac, and on the 9th of that month Gene- 
ral '' Stonewall " Jackson's advance of Lee's army had 
crossed the Rapidan and encountered Banks at Cedar 
Mountain. Battle after battle followed until they culmi- 
nated in the disgraceful overthrow of Pope at the veiy 
gates of the Capital. 

Lee thus cleared his line of communications so that his 
march through the Shenandoah into the Cumberland 
Valley should be unimpeded. 

The danger to the Capital was imminent, and the Gov- 
ernment and the people were thoroughly and completely 
aroused. By the orders of Stanton and Halleck, McClel- 
lan had been despoiled of all command, but when dismay 
spread its dark mantle over Washington, President Lin- 



A Leaf from the History of the Rebellion. 21 

coin telegraphed liiin '' I beg of you to assist me in this 
crisis, with your ability and experience. I am entirely tired 
out," and to the utter discomfiture of Stanton and Chase, 
who would have preferred the surrender of Washington 
to accepting its safety at the hands of McClellan, placed 
him at the head of the army for the defence of Washing- 
ton. 

On the 11th of September Longstreet's corps of Lee's 
army was occupying Hagerstown and vicinity, 

McClellan having hastily reorganized the arniy cau- 
tiously followed, covering Washington as he progressed. 

The North was now aroused, and political intrigue and 
schemes of personal advancement had to be dropped for 
the time being. 

Pennsylvania, which was threatened with the horrors 
and devastation of war upon its soil, made strenuous ef- 
forts to resist invasion. Governor Curtin's call upon the 
people was responded to with alacrity, and soon a, large 
army was gathering on the banks of the Susquehanna. 
This army was composed principally of the militia. It is 
somewhat customary to smile when the militia are men- 
tioned in connection with actual war, but the fact cannot 
be truthfully contradicted that whenever the militia were 
called out during the war they always filled the part thej 
were called upon to act. 

At this time Governor Curtin, having been apprised in 
advance that Pennsylvania nnist look out for itself, made 
the most complete arrangements foi- the State's defence. 



22 A Leaf from the History of the Rebellion. 



He summoned the militia of the Commonwealth to gather 
at the border, and there await his arrival. 

"Then marched the brave from rocky steep, 
From mouutain river swift and cold ; 

The borders of the stormy deep, 

The vales where gathered water sleep. 
Sent up the strong and bold." 

Thej gathered, and I can see them now with their bright 
guns flashing in the September sunlight ; their fresh blouses 
with shining buttons ; their canteens overflowing with the 
cool waters of the Conococheague and their haversacks 
filled with rations. They were a fine sight to behold as 
their lines were formed in field and wood. Some of them 
were imbued with State pride and citizen duty to such a 
high degree that they hesitated in crossing the border for 
fear that it would be doing an unconstitutional act. This 
fact coming to the knowledge of Curtin how grand he 
looked and how magical the effect when he appeared be- 
fore the doubting ones and informed them that the border 
line was only an imaginary one, and assured them that 
wherever Pennsylvania troops would follow, there Penn- 
svlvania's Governor would lead. So it was that, with nil 
the "pride, pomp and circumstance of glorious war," with 
drums beating and banners waving, they bravely crossed 
the border. The column marched, and in good time arrived 
at Hagerstown, where its Chief established his headquarters. 
It then moved out the Williamsport road, along which it 
■was drawn up in line of battle to meet a portion of the 



A Leaf from the History of the Rebellion. 23 

enemy advancing on its front. The position was one of 
great responsibility and full of danger, and had it not been 
filled by the militia it would have been necessary to fill it 
from the army of the Potomac, then engaged with Lee's 
main forces. Therefore, alt-hough not in the battle of An- 
tietam with its shifting scenes of successes and defeats, its 
carnage and its glories, the Pennsylvania militia are en- 
titled to great praise for assisting in bringing about its 
results, 

On the 18th of September Longstreet's corps of Lee's 
army was at Hagerstown, his advaiice having reached 
there on the 11th. Hill was at the base of South Moun- 
tain, and Jackson was investing Harper's Ferry. Greneral 
McClellan's headquarters were at Frederick. 

McClellan had a three-fold duty to perform: to punish 
Lee, to cover Washington, and to relieve the garrison at 
Harper's Ferry. This latter duty should not have been 
imposed upon him, as it weakened his abilitv to perform 
the other duties. Harper's Ferry was of no strategic im- 
portance, and the attem]3t to hold it vvas onl\- to insure the 
loss of its garrison. McClellan advised its abandonment 
and the transfer of the troops there to his command. But, 
as usual, it was only for McClellan to suggest a good for 
the War Department to frustrate its accomplishment; and 
so it was that not until September 12th, was the command 
at Harper's Ferry placed under McClellan, and that was 
contingent upon his opening communication with Miles. 
•Communication with Miles had been cut oft' bv Jackson's 



24 A Leaf from the History of the Rebellion. 



rapid movements to capture him, and it was only after 
tlais became an ascertained fact that Halleck placed Miles 
under McOlellan's orders, subject to the first mentioned 
contingency. McClellan saw the impending disaster to 
Miles and tried to avert it, but the authority given him in 
the premises, came too late, as subsequent events proved. 
McClellan now pushed forward rapidly and on Sunday 
morning encountered Hill at the Boonsborough pass of 
the South Mountain. Hill made a gallant stand, and was 
reinforced dunng the afternoon from Longstreet's corps. 
The action was a bloody one, and whilst the paeans of vic- 
tory went to McClellan, Hill accomplished a great result 
iii detaining McClellan long enough to allow Jackson to 
accomplish the entire discomfiture of Miles, for the next 
morning that unfortunate officer surrendered 12,520 men, 
with all the stores and munitions of war at Harper's Ferry, 
to Jackson. 

Jackson was thus enabled to form a junction with Lee 
and to enter battle with his troops, enthused by their vic- 
tory, whilst McClellan was handicapped by being deprived 
of the moral and material support of over twelve thousand 
additional troops that he should have had with him when 
the two great armies clashed in battle on the banks of the 
Antietam. 

On the 15th of September McClellan continued his 
march and late in the afternoon came up with the enemy 
near Sharpsburg ; but he had not sufficient force at that time 
to warrant an attack. On the 16th a fog prevailed, and 



A Leaf from the History of the Rehellion. 25 

the daj was devoted bj the gallant antagonists in concen- 
trating their forces, strengthening their lines and maneuver- 
ing for position preparatory to the deadly fray so close at 
hand. Artillery tiring was kept up throughout the day, 
and late in the afternoon Meade's Division, composed of 
the Pennsylvania Eeserves, supported by other Divisions, 
of Hooker's corps, engaged theenemy in a sharp and bloody 
conflict to which darkness put a stop. 

The 17th opened beautifully, with all the splendor of a 
September sun reflecting its rays over the scene. As the 
sunlight broke over the contending forces resting on tlieir 
arms or marching towards the chosen ground the great 
battle of Antietam was began at the skirmish line of the 
Pennsylvania Eeserves. Soon after regiment upon regi- 
ment, brigade upon brigade, division upon division, and 
corps upon corps, were thrown into action until not less 
than one hundred thousand men shared in the glories or 
suffered in the disasters of the stubborn conflict. From 
the time of the first firing in the morning until night threw 
its mantle over the smoke of the field tlie battle raged with 
terrific fury, and hope and fear alternated in the breasts of 
contending sides. Heroism, patriotism and valor wz'ote 
their names on history's page all over the sanguinary field 
which was strewn with nearly twenty-one thousand dead 
and wounded men. 3,620 dead bodies and 17,365 wounded 
men attested to tlie fierceness of the struggle. Neither 
army could claim a victory in the fight, neither was in a 
condition to renew the battle next day, but the prestige 



26 A Leaf from the History of the Rebellion. 

went to McClellan, because he i-etained possession of the 
field. The results, however, were of great importance to 
the Government. Washington was now safe from attack 
and Pennsylvania relieved from threatened invasion. 

The reverberations of McClellan's guns at Antietam ac- 
claiming the safety of Washington, had not died upon the 
air before the enemy in the rear relieved of its fears again 
set in motion their system or policy of undoing, and it was 
not long before McClellan's military career came to an end 
through their intrigues. Antietam closed the first chapter 
in the history of the war. Patriotism had thus far triumphed, 
but from the hour that Lee recrossed the Potomac it was 
placed under a cloud, and partisanism to a greater or less 
extent controlled the course of subsequent events. 
Although patriotism was deeply imbedded in the hearts 
of the army and the people it was at very low ebb in pub- 
lic places. A new party had come into power, and its fol- 
lowers were not only clamorous for the offices, but they 
adopted every possible measure to perpetuate their hold 
on public place, and to put in tlie background all those 
who did not vote with them at the polls. No matter how 
patriotic the citizen, how great were his services and sac- 
rifices for the preservation of the Union, if he did not at 
once bow his head to the decrees of a partisan caucus he 
was hounded by the party organ and the petty politician 
and ostracised from participation in public affairs. There 
was considerable presidential timber in the cabinet which 
was more or less influenced in public action by party 



A Leaf from the History of the Rebellion. 27 

clamor. From these causes sprung a spirit of intolerance 
and intrigue, which, in view of the critical condition the 
Grovernment found itself in, was akin to treason, that re- 
sulted in prolonging the war at a fearful expense of precious 
life and a vast amount of treasure. Of party men, how- 
ever, there were a few who were too great and with a 
patriotism too broad who tried to turn back the tide of 
intolerance and to some extent succeeded. Among their 
number was Simon Cameron. I well remember the morn- 
ing, in the Secretary of War's office, when Senator King 
of New York, came in and reproached Mr. Cameron for 
appointing Democrats to positions in the army, and Mr. 
Cameron's reply : " Senator, this is not a war for party, it 
is for the country, and I am with all those who are for the 
hitter." Mr. Cameron never departed from this broad 
standard of patriotism whilst he remained in public life. 
Mr. Lincoln did not partake of the spirit of intolerance, 
but the radical and intolerant wing of his party were in 
the majority both in Congress and in his Cabinet, and he 
was forced at times by the circmustances surrounding him 
to tolerate what he abhorred. 

William B. Wilson. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



aD0E3E7Elt,7 



